UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
LETTER
To the Honourable
Edward Vernon Efq;
Vice-Admiral of the Red, &c.
FROM
JOHN CATHCART,
Director of the HOSPITAL in the late
Expedition to the Wejl-lndies^
Under the Command of the Honourable
General WENTWORTH:
CONCERNING
Some Grofs MISREPRESENTATIONS in a /'
Pamphlet, lately Publiihed, and Intitled,
ORIGINAL PAPERS relating to the Expedition
to the I/land of Cuba.
Cujufvis eft errare> nullius nifi infipimtis in
errore perfeverare. Cic.
LONDON:
Printed for M. COOPER, at the Globe in Pater-Nafier-Ro-(o+
M.D.CC.XLIV.
(3)
LETTER
T O T H E
Honourable EDWARD VERNON Efq;
Vice-Admiral of the Redy
To the Hon. EDWARD VERNON Efy &c.
SIR, London, 16 May, 1744.
IH A V E had your original Letters of the
17 and 19 Auguft, 1741, to General Went-
worth, compared with the Copies of faid
Letters, publifhed about two Months ago, in
a Pamphlet, intitled, Original Papers relating to
the Expedition to the I/land of Cuba ; and they
\vere found to agree. In thefe Letters, you have
grofsly abufed, and greatly injured me, by re-
prefenting my Conduct to that Gentleman in a
very falfe and deteftable Light ; the fevere Ef-
fects of which I have moft fenfibly felt, in many
Inftances, fince they were wrote : And now, by
their being publifhed, I am expofed to all the
World, in plain terms, as a Robber, a Lyar,
and a Deceiver.
I have tried all ways, and ufed all means, I
could think of, to induce you, firft to fatisfy
A 2 yourfeif
AA3
(4)
yourfelf, from undoubted Evidence and Proofs,
that what you have accufed me of is falfe ; and
then to acknowledge, as every juft Man ought
to do, that you have injured me without any
Caufe : But all my Endeavours to obtain this,
have hitherto had no Effect. I fhall now go
yet farther, • (which 1 pro'pofe mall be my laft
Effort, to pnerfuade you to end this Affair in a
private way,) and that is, firft, to Jay before you
what has already part betwixt us, on this Sub-
ject ; and then the Proofs and Vouchers that I
have to adduce to jufHfy my own Conduct, and
invalidate your ill-founded Accufations, And if
this cannot prevail with you to comply with my
Kequeft, to do me the reafonable Juftice I re-
quire, I. Jball publifh the whole of this Affair,
from firft to laft, which I believe all Mankind
•will think right, as it is in Vindication of my
own Character ; and leave it to them to judge of
your Injuftice and of my Innocence.
Soon after the above Pamphlet appeared, I
wrote you the following Letter.
*To the Hon. EDWARD VERNON
SIR, ForreJPi Coffee-Hcufe, 29 Mar, 1744.
I A M confcious to myfelf, that, when, in
the Weft-Indies^ Director of the Hofpital for
the Land- Forces, I never gave you any trouble
but what the Nature of my Office neceffarily
required ; and I did not in the leaft expect,
that I mould have been forced to give you any
at home. But if it appears, that, by your means,
my Character and Reputation lie now bleeding
and unjuftly expofed to all the World ; and
that you have at prefent taken from me the moft
valuable thing a Man can po/Tefs, and what has
fupported me with Reputation, now near thefe
40
(5)
40 Years paft, My good Name ; I fay, if thefe
Facts plainly appear, it will plead my Excufe)
for troubling you with this.
When I firft v/aited on General Wentworth at
Cuba, 12 Qffober 1741, he received me in the
coldeft Manner before fevtral Officers of the
firft Rank in the Army •, told me, that I had
difobeyed his Orders in not coming in the
Strumbolo Firemip ; that he was well informed,
that my {laying after her in -Jamaica was to mind
my own private Affairs in Trade ; and that I
had reprefented to him the Detention of the
Hofpital Ship Lynn at Jamaica in a falfe Light,
becaufe me had not been detained there by any
Officer of the Admiral, or by any Order from
him, as I had alledged. I defired he would be
pleafed to appoint a Court Martial, to enquire
into the Truth of thefe Accufations, being then
ready to difprove them all, and I hoped he
would name his falfe Informer. He faid, he
would order a Court as foon as it was convenient
for him, and that he would let me know his In-
former when he thought fit. After many Ap-
plications to the General for this Court, it was at
Lift appointed under the Name of a Court of
Enquiry, confifting of General and Field Officers,
and held four Months thereafter, viz. on the
1 6 February following to enquire into the above
Facts, and my Conduct in Jamaica from ift
July to 29th September preceeding. By the Re-
port of this Court, dated ipth February, I was
honourably acquitted ; and the Day following,
when I waited on General Wentworth to get an
authentic Copy of the Report, he was pleafed
to fay to me, in prefence of 8 or 10 Field Offi-
cers then with him, " Sir, I have look'd over the
" Proceedings of the Court, and am well pleafed
" you are acquitted of what I charged you with :
" And
(6)
<£ And as I fee you infift ftrongly in your De-
** fence upon my letting you know my Infor-
" mer, I now tell you, before thefe Gentlemen,
" that it was Admiral Vernon ; and I very well
*c remember, when he and I agreed to fend the
" Strumbolo for you and the Surgeons, he told
" me, you need not expe6t Mr. Cathcart will
" come until he hath finifhed his private Affairs ;
" for I know he is delivering a great Quantity
«' of Brandy, that he fold to the Agents for the
" Fleet." My Reply to the General was,
" Sir, had you been pleafed to have told me
" this when I firft waited on you at Cuba, my
*' Reputation had not fuffered fo much, both
" in the Army and the Fleet, as it has done
** for thefe four Months paft ; for then I was
" prepared to make the fame Defence I have
16 now made, and to fatisfy you, that all the
** Brandy I ever fold the Agents for the Ufe of
" the Fleet, was delivered and paid for, before
*' you and the Admiral left Jamaica. But as I
" am now fully acquitted by the Report of the
" Court, I fhall let the Affair remain as it is,
" becaufe it is probable, you have mifunderftood
" the Admiral, who was confcious to himfelf
" that he certified the Bills of Exchange for the
" Payment of faid Brandy before he left Ja-
* f • ••
*« maica.
I continued, Sir, in the fame Opinion with
regard to you ever fince, till lately that a Pam-
phlet appeared, intitled, Original Papers rela-
ting to the Expedition to the I/land cf Cuba,
which fo much furprized me, that I know not
yet what to think, or how to account for your
Conduct towards me, who had never done you
the fmalleft Injury. For therein it appears, that
you have reprefented my Conduct in fuch a
Light, formerly to my General, and now to all
the
(7)
the World, that you feera determined to ruin me
in the Opinion of all good Men. For in your
Letter to him, of the I7th of Auguft* 1741, as
per faid Pamphlet, page 68, you bring this
heavy Charge againft me ; 'viz. " I take Mr.
<c Catbcart's Solicitoufnefs about her [that is, to
" have the Hofpital Ship Lynn, brought to Cuba}
*e to be in regard to other Merchandize on
<s Board [Brandy] that might not be fo fervice-
" able to the Army •, well knowing he has made
" ufe of his Majefty's Tranfports for his private
" Service, by my having figned Bills of Ex-
<e change for near 7000 /. for French Brandies by
" him fold to the Agent Victuallers for the
" Fleet, and delivered from the Tranfports"
This Charge, if true, muft prove me the worft
of Men ; for by it I am reprefented as a vile
Robber of the Publick of no Jefs than the
Freight of 2 20 Tons of the King's Tranfports
for above twelve Months, which comes to
more than , 3000 /. Sterling. And to whom is
this Reprefentation made ? To my Commander
in Chief, and in my Abfence, with this cruel
Jnfinuation, that I wanted the Hofpital Ship at
Cuba chiefly, that I might fell Brandy 'I had
in her to the Army ! Now, Sir, if I prove to
your Satisfaction, ift, That the 70007. worth
of Brandy, which I fold to the Agents for the
ufe of the Fleet, were not in whole, or in any
part, delivered from or out of the Tranfports,
or had ever been in any Tranfports, Store Ships,
or any other Veflel or Veflels in the Pay of the
Government : 2dly, That there never was one
Drop of Brandy on Board the Lynn Hofpital
Ship, either before or when me went to Cuba,
except two fmall Casks bought at Portfmouth^
for the ufe of the Hofpital before our Departure
from England; I fay, when thefe two Articles
arc
( 8 )
are clearly proved, which I undertake to do ;
and when you are fully informed of what I
have fuffered, and am ftill like to fuffer, from
thefe and the following unjuft Reprefentations
and Insinuations, what an Agony of Mind
muft you, or any good Man be in, until you
have avenged yourfelf of your vile Informers,
and repaired the Injury you have done to my
Reputation ?
In your Letter of the 29 July, 1741, to his
Grace the Duke of Nievbcajtff, you fay, as per
faid Pamphlet, page 40, " Mr. Catbcart^ Di-
** reclor of the Hcfpital told Capt. Dnrell> le
" flayed behind lo fur chafe NeceJJaries fcr the Hof-
" pi!at, which he would foon be following him
" with. And in your Letter. to General Went-
" izcrth of the 19 of Auguft following you fay,
c« as per faid Pamphlet, page 70, I received
" yours of the i8th laft Night, by which I find
" Mr. Cathcart does not reprefent things truly
" to you : You know, Sir, when I found the
" Army's Medicines and Surgeons were left be-
" hind, I offered you a Ship [the StmmbclcC's.^.
" Durell] to fetch them with Expedition to
" you ; well knowing the Lynn Hofpital Ship to
t4 be a heavy Ship that could not be depended
44 upon to get here in time ; and I was not there-
" fore for having their coming depend on fuch a
" Contingency, as getting a heavy leewardly
*' Ship up to windward. But I believe, as
<c we are ftationed, arid my Cruizers pofted,
<e Mr. Caihcart and his Lynn too' [me was not
" mine, nor had I the leaft Concern in her]
" might have come, as to any Danger from art
" Enemy, with as much fafety as any Man can
" walk from the Rcyal- Exchange tQWeftmivfter,
*' and no Officer of mine would have given Mm
( 9 )
** [or her'] any Impediment^ if he could have Mert
*' to fail her as they are chartered to do."
As to what you write his Grace, I am apt to
think, you have mifunderftood Capt. Durell^
who well knew that the Reafon of my ftaying
behind, was not the want of Neceffaries for the
Hofpital^ but Capt. Davers's not permitting the
Hofpital Ship to fail' with the Strumbolo. And
this Fad you was probably informed of by Capt.
Davers's Letter, of the ifth of July* brought
you by faid Capt. Durell.
General Wentwortb had great reafori to be
difpleafed with me^ after having been told, by a
Perfon of your high Rank and Station in our
Expedition^ in plain terms, that I had mifrepre-
fented Facts to him j and that no Officer of yours
would impede the Hofpital Ship from coming
to join the Army at Cuba. I mall, Sir, make it
evidently clear to you, and to all the World,
that every Particular I reprefented to the Gene-
ral, relating to the Detention of the Hofpital
Ship Lynn at Jamaica^ was put in a true, plain,
and undefigning Light j and that in doing of
this, I had nothing in view but the Good of
his Majefty's Service : particularly that Capt,
DaverS) after coniidering my two Memorials of
the 2d and 6th July, 1741, for a whole Week*
did, on the i3th of that Month, fend on Board
the Hofpital Ship Lynn, then at Port Royal^
eight Seamen, to enable her to fail with the Tork
Man of War the next day for Cuba. We were
prepared, and would have failed, had not the
Breeze detained both the Tcrk and us on the i4th
and 1 5th, when fasStrumbofa with your Let-
ters to Mr. D avers, arrived ; upon which he
immediately took away the eight Seamen, and
wrote me, that the Hofpital Ship Lynn was,
B by
( 10
fry youf pofitive Order,- to remain in Pbrf, and
not to ftir. He kept her under this Embargo
from 1 5 July to 28 Auguft^ notwithstanding- the
repeated Requefts of General Guife, then Com-
/nander in Chief at Jamaica^ and myfdf, to let
her depart ;- and then he told me, he had re-
ceived a Letter from you, in which you had
given him leave to let her go ; but added, that
he would not affift her with any Men. And he
kept his word ftrl&ly ; for tho' he fent down 50
Seamen^ to help to mann the other Tranfports
that failed with us, he would not give one to
• the Lynn Hofpital Ship ;' tho* General Guife
wrote him preffingly upon this Subjecl, and gave'
fome weighty Reafons to induce him to do it.
If alt thefe Matters be proved to your Satif-
faction, as I have undertaken to do, I am fure
you will be ready and defirous1 to reprefent me
in a quite different Light to the World,- than f
am reprefented in the above-cited Pamphlet :
And as your time may be taken up about Mat-
ters of great Confequence,: I humbly propofe,-
that you would defire fome of your Frierids to
examin narrowly into the truth of what I have
advanced in this Letter, and to report as1 they
find it.- Tbeg leave to name fome,' whom I be-
lieve you efte'em, and think fit Perfonff to oblige
both you and me in this Enquiry, viz. Capt. * *,
Capt> *, Mr.* *,. Mr.* * *, Mr.*, and Mr.* * *.
They or any three of them,- or any three Gen-
tlemen, that belonged to either the Fleet or Army
during the time of our Expedition, that you
pleafe to name, {hall be moft acceptable to me.
As the clearing up of this Affair is of the ut-
moft Gonfequence to rtie at prefent,- and' mufl
do me a real Prejudice, if it ftands much longer
a& it does; I beg you will- not treat it with
Jndif-
Indifference or Delay. And I hope, when you
have conlidered what I have now wrote, you
will be pleafed to let me know by a mort
Jvine directed to me at this Place, if what I
have propofed in the preceding Paragraph will
be agreeable tP you. 1 0m9 &£•
JOHN CATHCART,
To this Letter you was not pleafed to return
any Anfwer ; and therefore, after waiting near
a Month, I wrote you the following one, viz.
SIR, Forrejl's Co/ee-Houfe , Wfdnejday 1.5
I HAVE waited thefe four Weeks paft with
very great Impatience, always expecting you
would have favoured me with an Anfwer to
my Letter of the 28 of laft Month. But your
delaying it fo long, gives me good Reafou to
apprehend, that you treat what I wrote you
with Indifference ; that you rejeft the reafonable
Propofal I made you in my faid Letter i an4
that you will be at no pains to repair the great
Injury you have done my Reputation, by expo-
£ng me on the Credit of falfe Information, as a.
Villain, and a Lyar to all the World.
If this is your determined Refolution, it will
force me, much againft my Inclination, to pub-r
)i(h an ample Refutation of all the Facts, &V,
you have charged me with, and alledged againft
me •, in doing of which, many authentic Let-
ters, Memorials, Affidavits and Abftracls muft
appear, which may give fome Perfons pleafure \
for the beft of Men, you know, in a publick
Station, as you have been, are not without theip
gut I aiTure you, it will give me in.
8 3
( 12 )
particular, and many of your Well-wimers, a
inoft fenfible Pain. Let me therefore intreat
you, in order to end this Affair amicably, to
chufe the Method I propofed to you in my for-
mer Letter.
I have communicated my Intentions only to
Mr. * *, your Fellow-Member in the Houfe of
Commons, who tells me, that he has fpoke to
Mr. * * * upon the Subject. Tho' I have not
the Honour to know the laft -, yet, if you in-
cline to it, I fhall leave it entirely to them, to
determine what you and I ought to do in it.
, If I am not fo happy as to be favoured with
your Anfwer by Tuefday next, the ift of May,
I fhall take it for granted, that I am not to have
any from you. But I hope it will prove other-.
•wife ; and am, Witb great Refyett, csV.-bij^:
JOHN CATHCART.
On the 30th of laft Month, Sir, I received at
Forreft's Ccffee-Houfe, an anonymous Letter,
dated two Days before, and directed to me,
from Cbelmsford'j, which I conjecture came from
you, as you was then at that Place on your \vay
to Ipfwicb, as I have been fince told : which is
as follows i
jf>t
•siq I
ft Mr. John Cathcart, at Forreffr Coffee*
Houfe.
•
SIR, CbdtKiford, aS^w/1744,
WHenever publick Enquiries [are made]
which for the publick Good are very
much wanted, and which publick Calamities
may foon render neceffary, thoj they are fo very
much out of the Mode at prefent, it will appear-
that the Publick was burthened with the Ex-
pence
( 13 )
pence of the Lynn Hofpital Ship much longer
than was neceflary, and with Numbers of Tranf-
port Ships.
If the great Quantity of Brandy fold by you
to the Fleet, came out of other Ships than the
Tranfports, you had great good Fortune in its
not becoming a Prey to the Governour of Ja-
maica, as the Property of the Crown that came
out in the faid Fleet did, tho* it was recom-
mended to his Protection by an Order of Coun-
cil, founded upon the Opinion of the Attorney-
General for the Legality of it, which was what
you had not to alledge in your favour.
Had a perfonal Application been judged more
decent than an epiftolary one, it is apprehended,
you would have been always fure of a licit Re-
ception and a candid Anfwer.
To this Letter I returned the following
Anfwer.
To the Honourable EDWARD VERNON Efq;
SIR, ForreJTs Coffee-Houfe, iji May, 1744.
YEfterday I received an anonymous Letter,
dated 2 8 April, from Cbelmsford, which,
I prefume, from its Contents, came from you.
If the Lynn Hofpital Ship, or any other, was
kept longer in Pay than was neceflary, furely
that Fault ought not to be imputed to me, be-
caufe the preventing of it was not in my power.
The Brandies I fold at Jamaica, for the Ufe
of the Fleet, were all in one Ship, and fo
guarded by proper Clearances, and fuch Difpo-
fitions were made, that no Officer, or Magif-
trate abroad, or at home, could either feize or
condemn them legally,
_i My
( H)
My hearing you was ill of the Gout, when I
firft wrote you, made me think, that writing
would be lefs troublefome than waiting on you
in JPerfon ; but now, as I hear you are better,
if you will be pleafed to indulge me with feeing
you for the fpace of half an Hour, at anytime
you think proper to fix, J now venture to a/lure
you, that in that time I mall convince you fully,
that you have been grofsly impofed upon as to
my Conduct in the Expedition. And if you
pleafe, Mr. * * * of Jamaica, who did me the
Honour to introduce me firft to your Acquain-?
tance, and who has a fincere Efteem for us both,
will come with me. I hope for a favourable
Anfwer ; and am. With great Refpefi, &c.
JOHN CATHCART.
I {hall new, Sir, lay before you the Proofs
and Vouchers, which I can adduce to juftify my
own Conduct, and invalidate your groundless
,Accufatipns.
The firft Accufation you bring againft me in
your faid Letter to General Wentwortb, of the
17 jfuguft, 1741, is, That you well knew I
made ufe of his Majefty's Tranfports for my
own private Service -, and that I had delivered
from, or out of them, near 7000 /. worth of
Brandy, which I fold to the Agent Victuallers
for the Fleet. Allow me, Sir, to obferve, that
this Affertion is very pofitive •, for you do not
fay, that you was told or informed, that this
Fail! flood fo, but that you knew it well, or
•was certain of the Truth of it. Now I have
undertaken, in my firft Letter to you, of the
2pth of March laft, as above, to prove that
what you have fo pofitively afTerted is abfolutely
falfe \ viz. That the 7000 /. worth of Brandy,
i
( if J
Mich I fold to the Agents, for the Ufe
t'ieet, was not in whole, or in any part,- de-
livered from or out of the Tranfports, or had
fcver been in any Tranfports,- Storemips, of
other Veflel or Veffels, in the Pay of the Go-
vernment : And the Proof I bring for this is,'
Mr. Campbell's Affidavit, as follows :
CAMPBELL,- Commiffary of
Stores of War and Provifions in the Iat6
Expedition to the Weft-Indies ^ under the Com-
mand of the Honourable General Wentwortb*
being fvvorn on the Holy Evangelifts of Al-
mighty Gcd,- faith, That hev this Deponent^
knoweth, and doth very well remember,^ that
being in Jamaica, in the Month of June, 174.1,
and having a Goncefn with forne Merchants itt
London, and John Cathcart^ then Director of
the Hofpital in the faid Expedition, in a Cargo'
of Brandy then on board the Ship Brothers? A-
lexander Montgomery Mafter,- lying in Port*
Royal Harbour, he and the faid John Cathcart
did,- in the faid Month of June, fell and deli-
ver to MefT. Gray and Maynard, Agent Victu-
allers for the Fleet, the faid Cargo of Brandy,
at the Rate of is. 6d. Sterl. per Gal. And that in
f-he faid Month of June, he, this Deponent, and
the faid John Cathcart^- did receive Payment for
the fame, Part in Money, and the Remainder,-
being 6389/7. roj. 9^. Sterl. in a Bill of Exchange^
drawn by the faid Meff Gray and Maynard on
the Commiflioners of Viftuallihg in London \
which Bill was under-wrote and certified by Ad-
miral Vernon before he failed from Jamaica on
the Cuba Expedition. And this Deponent far-
ther faith, That no Part of the faid Brandy, fo
delivered, had ever been in any Tranf-
pcrt
r .6)
port or other Veflel, in the Pay of the Govern-
ment 5 but that all of it was brought to Jamaica
in the faid Ship Brothers -, and that the Freight
of it was paid to the faid Ship's Owner, Neil
Buchanan, Merchant in London. And laftly,
this Deponent faith, That he per feel:! y knew, and
was well acquainted with all the faid John Cath*
cart's Transactions during the whole time of the
faid Expedition j and he very well knows, that
the faid John Cathcart fold no Cargo, or Parcel
of Brandy, to the Agent Victuallers for the
Fleet, except the above Cargo delivered out of
the faid Ship Brothers, or any Brandy whatfo-
ever, to any other Officers or private Men, in
either Fleet or Army. And farther this Depo-
nent faith not.
Sworn at Guildhall, London, DAVID C A M P B E L L «'
10 May 1 744, before me,
EDWARD GIBBON.
This Mr. Campbell you knew during the Ex->
pedition ; and his Character {lands fo fair with
all who knew him, particularly with the Gen-
tlemen that were in our Fleet and Army, that I
efteem what he has faid conclusive : But if you
do not think this fufficient, I ftiall, for your
farther Satisfaction, adduce other Affidavits to
corroborate the Truth of his.
Your Infinuation to General H'entwortb, in
your faid Letter of the 17 Auguft, that my Soli-
citoufnefs to have the Hofpital Ship Lynn at
Cuba, proceeded from my having Brandy in her
to fell to the Army, mtift appear to have no
Foundation in Truth, when the following Af-
fidavit is perufsd \ viz.
R
( 17)
Middlefsx.
Obert Catbcart, Matter and Commander of
the Hofpital Ship Lynn in the late Expedi-
tion to the Weft Indie;, under the Command of
the Honourable General Wenlworib, being duly
{"worn on the Holy Evangelifts of Almighty God,
iahh, That he this Deponent \vas Matter of and
did com. nand the faid Ship" £}'»», while and dur-
ing all the time me was. in the Government's Ser-
vice as an Hofpital Ship in the faid Expedition,
viz. from May 1740, to March 1742 : That he
this D-ponent had from his Mates from time to
time, and kept an exact Account of all Provifions,
Liquors, and Stores, that were during that time
put on board the faid Ship Lynn^ exprefling the
Mark, Number, and as near as could be known
the Contents of each Parcel : And that Jckn
Catkcart, Director of the Hofpital in the faid
Expedition, never had on board the faid Ship
Lynn t any Brandy except two Gtfks which were
fent on board at Spltbcad before we failed from
England, and which were for the ufs of and
ufed in the Hofpital.
ROBERT CATKCAUT.
ic May, \ 744,
befive me KoetRT
DENNETT.
Here the Perfon who ought to know, and really
knows bed, and who bears a fair Character in the
World, affirms on Oath, That whiie the Hofpital
Ship Lynn was in the Service, I had not a drop
of Brandy in her, except the two Cades mentioned
in the Affidavit, and which I mentioned to you
in my firft Letter of the 29 March laft, both which
C were
were expended long before you proceeded on the
Cuba Expedition.
Now, Sir, after having put this Affair of the
Brandy in fo clear a light, I hope you will not
allow your vile Informers to remain longer unpu-
nifhed and unexpofed ; and that being convinced
by what I have laid before you, you will be fo
jiift as to declare my Innocence : Surely it is in-
cumbent upon you to do both.
Your next Accufation in your Letter to Gene-
ral Wentworth 19 Aug. 1741, is, that I deceived
him by not reprefenting Matters truly to him ;
and you aflure him, that none of your Officers
would detain at Jamaica or impede the Hofpital
Ship Lynn, from coming to join the Army ztCuba.
I beg leave, Sir, to obferve, that this Accufation
is of a more heinous Nature than your firft, as a
Deceiver and a Lyar is the mod vile and detefta-
ble Character pofiible, efpecially in Affairs of
great Confequence, which I efteem this to be.
In my Letters to the General of the 16 July,
5 and 29 Auguft 1/41, which were all the Letters,
I wrote him from Jamaica while he was at Cuba,
I tell him the Reverfe of all this, viz. That
the Hofpital Ship Lynn was actually detained
and not fuffered to ftir out of Port R oyal Har-
bour, by your Officer Commodore Davers, and,
as he faid, by an exprefs Order from you. Whe-
ther you or I have reprefented this Matter in a
fair and true light to General Wentinorth, will
evidently appear upon Perufal of the following
original Papers ; viz.
$9
( 19)
fo THOMAS DAVERS Efq\ Commander in
Chief of his Majefty's Ships in Jamaica.
SIR, Kingfion, "Jamaica, z 'July, 1741'
I Had Orders to remain here fome Days afttr
the failing of the Fleer, to fettle fome Affairs
relating to the Sick of the Army.
The Hofpital Ship Lynn, Rcfart Catbcart
Mafter, in which I am to proceed, having loft
moft of her Men and her two Mates by Death
and Defertion, I wrote Mr. Wallace^ Agent for
theTranfports, two Days before Admiral Vtrnon
failed, to reprefent the Cafe of this Ship to him,
that he might fupply her with a proper Perfon
to go Mate, and ten good Seamen, without which
we could not venture to Sea. I gave Mr. Wallace
this trouble, becaufe the Mafter of the Lynn was
then fick, and I could not poffibly wait on the
Admiral myfelf; but had no Anfwer.
As you are here Commander in Chief, I beg
leave to lay the State of this Ship before you, and
to intreat the A(Tiftance you may judge neceflary
for her Safety. She is a Ship of 530 Tons, hired
t>y the Government, and fitted up to lodge 100
fick or wounded Men, and to cany the Mafter-
Surgeon, nine other Surgeons and Apothecaries,
myfelf and Servants, and the Servants of the Hof-
pital, together with all the Medicines, a few ex-
cepted, and all the Surgical Inftruments belong-
ing to the Army. She has alfo en board all man-
ner of Neceflaries for the Sick, fuch as Bedding,
and Refrem.men.ts, and for fyrnifhirig an Hofpi-
tal on more. Thefe were purchafed by the Go-
vernment at a great Expence, and if loft will
throw the Army into great Difficulties, becaufe
many of the moil mxeffary Art ides cannot be get
C 2 ^ia
( 20 )
in America. V/e had when \ve left England our
full Compliment of Hands, \vhich is forty two,
and they are now reduced to fixteen, in which
number only fix, besides the Mailer and Carpen-
ter, can do rhe Duty of Seamen : We have got
alfo eighteen Negroes from the General, but they
are Land-men and cannot go aloft ; therefore
it is our Matter's Opinion, that he cannot
with any fafety proceed without the Addition of
ten good Ha,nds, and a fkilful fober Perfon to
afiift him as Mate, and fucceed as Matter, in cafe
of his death. It confitts with my Knowledge,
that our Matter has taken the utmoft Pains, and
been at a threat Expence to get Seamen here, but
cannot procure any for Money, except a Carpen-
ter, and one Caulker.
You will therefore, Sir, be pleafed to take this
Matter into Confidcration, and as the Health and
Welfare of the Army very much depend on the
Safety of this Ship, you will order the Ailiftance
you judge proper to enable us to join the Fleet
as foon as poflible. I am, &c.
JOHN CATHCART, Director of the
Hofpital.
•<noD
N. B. I delivered the above to Commodore
Divers with my own Hand on the ^d of Jufy\
and he promifed to confider it, and give me an
Anfvver if I would call the 5th, which I did.
-1390
To THOMAS PAVERS E/gj &c. & mrii
i/ A.
c T r>
b 1 K, #«^r, 7«,™,, 6 7«.,>, ,74T.
IN my Memorial of the fecond Inftant. 1 did
not lay before you all the Steps I had taken to
£et the Hofpital Ship Lynn manned, before the
^dtr.iral failed, thinking it more neccfTary and to
the
the purpofe to inform you fully of the State the
Ship was in with refpect to Hands to navigate
her, and of the Importance it was to his Majefty's
Service, to have her fent with Safety and Expe-
dition to the Army : But as you was pleafed to
tell me laft Night, that at your parting with the
General and Admiral before they failed, neither
of them mentioned this Ship to you, tho' you
afked the General particularly if he had any Com-
mands ; and therefore you thought there mufl
have been a Neglect in not reprefenting the State
of this Ship to them, othervvife you could not
fiippofe that a Ship I reprefented fo necefTary to
the Service, would have been forgot or neglected :
The following Fact, which J aver to be true in
every Particular, will put this Matter in a clear
Light.
Some Time before the Fleet failed, I told th«
General that the Hofpital Ship could not proceed
without at leaft fourteen good Seamen from the
Admiral : He defircd me to give in the Number
wanted to Mr. Wallace, Agent for the Tranf-
ports, and that he, the General, would lay the
State of that Ship, with fome others in the like
Condition, before the Admiral. I immediately
went to Mr. Wallace, and did as directed •, and a
few Days afterwards, he told me that the State
of the Hofpital Ship "Lynn, as to the want of
fourteen Hands, with others in the like Cafe, had
been laid before the Admiral, but he could not
then tell me any thing with Certainty of what
he intended to order upon it. And this Intima-
tion from Mr. Wallace induced me to write him
the Letter I mentioned in my Memorial to you.
I fhall not, Sir, take up your time in guefiing
at the Reafons why a Supply of Men for this
Ship was net ordered j it might probably proceecj
from
( 22 )
from the Hurry of Affairs that commonly attend
a Departure : and this is the moft favourable
Conjecture I can make. But let this be as it will,
I hope it will appear to all concerned that I have
done my Duty, which is only to reprefent in a
proper Manner what is wanted, and to wait the
Event.
Yefterday, by Accident, we got a fufficient
Man to go Mate, fo that only the ten good Sea-
men mentioned in my Memorial to you are
•wanted, in order to enable her to proceed with
Safety ; which I intreat you will be pleafed to fur-
nifh her with, for the Reafons laid before you in
faid Memorial, and in this. lam, &c.
JOHN CATHCART.
N. B. i. The above was fent and delivered
6 July by Mr. Gray, Agent-Victualler for the
Fleet, who promifed to ufe his Intereft with Mr.
Davsrs to procure the Men I wanted.
2. I did not receive an Anfwer to the above
Memorial until the 13 July\ a moft tedious while
toconfider of fuch a fimple plain Affair! When I
had a Meffage from Mr.Davers, that he wanted
to fpeak with me about the Lynn : and then he
gave her eight Seamen, which enabled her to
proceed.
3. The Hofpital Ship Lynn lay that Night,
j 3 July, unmoored, and would have failed next
Morning for Cuba* with the Tork Man of War,
but the Breeze detained both the Tork and her
that Day and the next, 15 July, when theStrutn-
lolo Firefhip, Captain Durell, arrived and brought
me the following Letter from General Went-
worth's Secretary ; viz.
SIR,
V ^ J
SIR, Craften, 13 July, I74j.
TH E General has ordered me to acquaint
you, that he is very much furprized at
your flaying at Jamaica, after having the 1 8
Negroes you defired of him for navigating your
Ship the Lynn, and defires, that ifjhe is not ca-
pable of 'proceeding hither, you would embark
with the Surgeon, and Mates, and the Medicines
that may be wanted ; as alfo the above-men-
tioned Negroes, on board the Firefhip, which
Admiral Vernon now fends to Port-Royal for
that purpofe. I am, &V.
ELISHA DOD.
P. S. Mr. Cathcart, the Captain of the Lynn
muft be charged with the King's Stores on Board,
which are to be forwarded as foon as practicable.
To Mr. CATHCART, Director oftheHofpital
for his Majeftfs Land-Forces on Board
the Lynn.
SIR, Suffolk, in Port-Royal Harbour, 15 Juljt 1741.
5PT1 I S the Admiral's Orders, that you im-
J[ mediately go on board the Strumbolo
Firefhip,, and carry with you the Surgeons and
Medicines, &c. for the Fleet : And Capt. Du-
rell has Orders to receive you and them, your
Ship being thought not proper to turn to Wind-
ward, and the Surgeons and Medicines may be
immediately wanted : For the Lynn is to remain
in the Harbour, and I have ordered the Men,
I put on board, to be removed into the York,
and the Negroes into the Snow Providence ; and
as the Strumbolo is to fail to-morrow Morning,
I defire you will have every thing on board of
2 her
( H)
her this Night, that (he may not be hindered
from going out. J have returned you the Ob-
ligation for the Mens Wages, and the Lift of
Negroes I fent Mr. Wallace, who will return it
you upon afldng for. / am, &Y.
THOMAS DAVERS.
To THOMAS DAVERS Efq\ &c.
S I R, Strumbuli), 15 July 174.1 --- jo at Night.
YOUR Letter of this Date, this minute re-
ceived, wherein you fay, that it is the Ad-
miral's Order, that the Hofpital Ship Lynn mail
remain in this Harbour,furprizes me very m ch?
becaufe it differs widely from the General's Or-
ders to me, they being conditional only ; viz.
" If the Hofpital Ship Lynn is not capable of
" proceeding hither, then," &V. And the Ad-
miral feems to be pofitive that me mail remain
here. She was declared fit to be continued in
the Service, by the Report of a Survey taken of
that Ship, at my Requeft and by Admiral V(.r-
nori's Order, by three of his Majefty's Mafter-
Carpenters ; which Report was laid before thjp
Admiral, fome Weeks before he failed : and b^
the Addition of the eight Seamen you put ' on
board, me is well manned, has now her Boats
and Pilot on board, lies unmoored, and the
Mailer has my Order to fail in Company with
us and the Tork to-morrow Morning. Therefore
1 intreat you will reconfider this matter, order
the eight Seamen again on board, and permit
her 'to go, if in any wife you find it confiftent
with what the Admiral writes you ; for her be-
ing with the Army is abfolutely neceflary, on
account of the Refremments and NeccfTaries me
has on board for the Sick and Wounded: And
it
(25)
it is the Government's pofitive Order, that flie
mall conftantly attend the Army, lor the Re-
ception and Accommodation of both.
Pray favour me with your Arsfwer, as foori
as you receive this, the Sftwnfolo being to fail
to-morrow at Break of day, that I may take my
meafures accordingly ; for if the Hofpital Ship
does not proceed, it will be inconfiftent with my
Duty to depart before I make farther Applica-
tion, for procuring Liberty for her to go.
lam, &c.
JOHN CATHCART.
N. B. . . I had not time to take a Copy of
this Letter before it was fent, but afterward put
down the Subftance of it as above in my Book.
To Mr. CATHCART, Dire ft or, &c. on
Board the Strumbolo.
S I R, S«/Mt in Port-Roy al-Barhur, 15 J-^y 1741.
I Thought I wrote you plain enough to be un-
derftood, that it is the Admiral's pofitive
Order, that you and your Surgeon?, Medicines,
&c. remove into the Strumbolo^ and proceed
with her to the Fleet, and the Lynn not to ftir
out of this Harbour, and the General approves
of it i fo I am forry I cannot give y.u any
hopes of going out in her, as you feem deliioUs
of doing. / am, &c.
THOMAS DAVERS,
( 26)
T0 the Hon. General WENTWORTH.
SIR, port-Royal, Jamaic*, 16 July i74j.
YEtlerday Morning I had the Honour of
Mr. ZW's Letter, by your Command, of
the 1 3th Inftant. You may juftly be furprized,
that my Stay here has been fo long, but it
wholly proceeded from want of Seamen to na-
vigate the Hofpital Ship ; for befide the 18 Ne-
groes you ordered for her, you will be pleafed
to remember, that I told you me could not pro-
ceed without a Supply of Seamen from Admiral
Vernon\ upon which you defined me to give the
Number wanted in to Mr. Wallace, and told me,
that other Tranfports were alfo in want of
Hands, and they mould be all afked for toge-
ther. This I did ; and Mr. Wallace thereafter
told me, that the Number our Ship wanted,,
•with others, had been laid before the Admiral
two Days before the Admiral failed. I wrote
Mr. Wallace^ to know what I might depend upon,
but received noAnfwer: And fo foon as the
Matter of the Lynn told me, that the Admiral
had put to Sea, and no Seamen had been or-
dered for our Ship, I apply'd by Memorial of
the 2d, and then by another of the 6th Inftant,
to Commodore Davers for ten good Seamen, but
could receive no fatisfaclory Anfwer before the
1 3th Inftant ; when he fent for me, and told me,
that he would fpare me eight good Men if that
would do, and that Evening fent them on
board our Ship at Port-Royal, where all our
Surgeons and I were attending, and the next
Morning would have failed, but the Wind
proved contrary both to the Tork Man of War
2 and
( 27)
and us : It proved the fame yefterday, when at
feven in the Morning your above Letter came
to my hands ; upon Receipt of which the Sur-
geons and I embarked in the Strumbolo, with all
the Inftruments, Bandages, and what Medicines
they thought proper to carry with them ; and
I ordered the Hofpital Ship to fail with us with
the reft of the Medicines and Stores. This Dif-
pofition the Mafter- Surgeon, and I judged to
be right, and perfectly agreeable to your Com-
mands, feeing the Hofpital Ship was then well
manned, and capable to proceed. But, to my
great Surprize, at 10 that Night, on board the
Strumlolo^ I received a Letter from Mr. Davers,
telling me, that it vvas the Admiral's Orders,
that the Hofpital Ship Lynn was to remain in this
Harbour. The late Time of Night, the Dif-
tance I was then from him, being three Miles,
and my Fatigue through the Day hindered me
from waiting then on him ; but I wrote him,
and defired him to reconfider the Affair, and let
her go ; but left he would not comply, I put on
board the Strumlolo, by the Mafter-Surgeon's
Advice, a farther Supply of Medicines, and de-
termined to ftay behind, and get General Guife
to interpofe his Authority that me inight pro-
ceed.
This Day I waited on Mr. Dzvers, fhowed
him your Letter to me, which is conditional,
viz. " If the Hofpital Ship Lynn is not capable
" of proceeding hither, then, &r<r." I told him,
fhe was capable of proceeding, as appears by a
Report of a Survey taken by Admiral Fernsn's
Order, and laid before him fome Weeks before
he failed, and then afked him, if he would per-
mit her to go to join the Army, urging the
Prejudice it might prove to the Army, if he
D 2 detained
( 23 )
detained her here. To this he anfwered, in
plain terms, *' Sir, I have the Admiral's pofi-
" five Order to detain her here, and not to let
" her proceed; adding, that Mr. Yemen had wrote
*' him, that you agreed to it, or approved of
" it." I told him there was a Myftery or Mif-
take in the Affair, which I could not compre-
hend, for he plainly faw you had wrote to
me the direct contrary.
I mall apply to General Guife for Directions,
what Steps to take in this Conjuncture, and
either proceed to the Army in the Deptford Man
of War that is to fail in few days, or wait here
for farther Orders from you, as he fhall judge
moil proper.
/ have the Honour to be^ &c.
JOHN CATHCA-RT.
To the Hon. Brig. General GUISE.
SIR, K;n~f!i,i>, Jamaica , 17 July 1741.
ON the i5th Inftant, late at Night, Com-
modore "Dover s informed me by Letter,
that it was Admiral Vernon\ Orders to him that
the Hofpital Ship Lynn fhould remain in this
Harbour, and not proceed to join the Army.
This only hindered her from failing Yefterday
Morning, having had all in readinefs and my
Order for that purpofe.
You will eafiiy perceive the Prejudice the SernriS
vice muft fuftain by this Ship's being detained
here, confidering the great Supply of Neceflaries
fne.has on board for the Sick and Wounded,
together with all that is proper for compleatly
furnifhing an Hofpital on Shore, provided by
the Government at a great Expence, and prder'd
to
jV7 bni.
( 29 )
to be always with the Army, but now rendered
ufelefs by the above Detention.
As you are Commander in Chief here, it is
my Duty to lay this Affair before you as above
reprefented ; and, if you agree with me in Opi-
nion, to requeft that you will be pleafed to fig-
nify to Mr. Davers, the Neceflity there is for
the Army to have the above Neceflaries and
Stores, and the Hofpital Ship to attend it; and
that he will therefore permit her to depart.
That you may fee diftinctly what I have done
in this Affair, 1 beg leave to lay before you for
your Perufal, my two Memorials to Mr. Davers,
of the 2d and 6th Inftant, General Wentivortfr's,
Letter to me of the I3th, with my Anfwer of
the 1 6th Inftant-, together with two Letters from
Mr. Davers, and one to him, all of the i5th
Inftant.
/ am, with great Refyeft, &c.
JOHN CATHCART.
To THOMAS DAVERS EJq-t
I R> Q3 i Kingfton, Jamaica, i^July 1741.
Letter to me, of the i5thlnft. in An-
fwer to mine of the fame Date, I received
early the Day following, and have fince waited
on General Guife^ laid before him Genera! Want-
worth's Letter to me, relating to the Hofpital
Ship Lynn, with my Anfwer thereto ; as alfo
all the Inftances I have made txTyou, that you
might permit laid Ship to proceed to the Army :
and I have mowed him, not only the Neceffity
of this, but alfo that it is the Government's po-
fitive Command, upon the Eftabliihmerit of the
Hofpital, that the faid Ship mould always at-
tend the fame, to receive and accommodate the
Sick and Wounded, Upon which he has wrote
( 3°)
you the inclofed Letter, defiring you will per-
mit her to depart. I humbly join with him in
the fame Requeft, for the above and former
Reafons given you ; efpecially becaufe when the
Fleet was bound to Carthegena, fhe turned as
faft to Windward, as far as our Rendezvouz
Donna Maria Bay, and from thence to Port-
Louis, as others of the Tranfports did : And if
you think fit to order a Survey upon her now, I
know, from the Report of the former Survey,
and the Repairs fhe has had fince, you will find
her fufficiently provided, and in a proper trim to
turn to Windward.
I am forry for the trouble I have given you in
this Affair ; but now I have done with it ; and if
you continue determined to detain her here after
this, and what General Guife has wrote you, be
pleafed to fignify fo much to me in two Lines,
that the Blame, if any, may not lie upon me,
b.ut where it ought ; for now in the Hurricane-
Seafon, her Rifque is more here than at Sea, or
in a Harbour to Windward ; and that you will
allow me, and my Servant, and 18 Negroes,
now in the Lynn, and belonging to the Army,
to go in the Deptford Man of War to join it.
lam, &c.
JOAN CATHCART.
Extrattfrom my Journal 18 and 19 July,
1741.
Saturday, 18 July, 1741. This Day, in the
Afternoon, I delivered Mr. Davers my Let-
ter of this Date on board the Suffolk, in the
Narrows : As to the Hofpital Ship Lynn, ' he
told me, he would not let her go till he had
Orders for it from the Admiral ; and this he
would Jet Brigadier Guife know by a Letter.
As
( 3' )
As to the 1 8 Negroes, he faid, they might have
gone in the Strumbolo, or by the Snow Provi-
dence, and that he would not let them go in the
Deptfordy until General Guife defired it. As to
my going in the Deptford, he faid, her Com-
mander, Capt. Mofteyn, might carry me or not?
as he pleafed ; but that he would not give him
any Orders about it.*— ——To which I anfwered,
That I could not part with the 18 Negros, who
were appointed to help to navigate the Hofpital
Ship Lynn, until he had poiitively refufed to let
faid Ship go againft the exprefs Defire of the
Commander in Chief, here fignified to him in
the Letter I had now delivered him. I then
alked him, when the Deptford would fail ? He
told me early on Monday the zoth Inftant. From
the Suffolk I went about 3 Miles farther on board
the Deptford, told Capt. Mofleyn what the Com-
modore faid about my going in his Ship, and
alked him, if he would allow me a PafTage with
him ? He told me, he was juft come from the
Commodore ; that he was forry he fhould re'fufe
any Gentleman (b fmall a Favour ; but as things
flood, he could not allow me to go without an
Order from him in writing. I then afked him
when he would fail ? He fmiled, and faid, as
foon as he could. From thence I made what
hafte I. could to Kingflon, and fent an Exprefs to
General Cuife, telling him the Anfwer I received
from Mr. Divers as above, and defiring he
would fisn and return me the following Letter
o <J
to Mr. Davers, that I might embark myfdf and
the Negroes the next Day, being Sunday, on
board the Deptford, (lie being to fail early on
Monday.
to
( 32 )
To Cowmodore D AVERS, on board the Suffolk.
S I R, Halftvay-tretti%Ju!y,i-j4i>
MR. Cathcart, by whom I fent you my
Letter of this Date, defiring you would
permit the Hofpital Ship Lynn to go to join the
Army, brings me for Anfwer, that you cannot
do it, having pofitive Orders from Admiral Ver-
non, to keep her here. As this is the Cafe, I
defire you will allow Mr. Cathcart and his Ser-
vant, as alfo eighteen Negroes now in the faid
Ship Lynn, to go in the Deptford Man of War,
that they may join it as foon as poflible i becaufe
as Mr. Cathcart can do no more here, his Atten-
dance there may be neceflary ; therefore, be
pleafed to fend him by the Bearer, an Order to
Captain Mqfteyn to receive him, his Servant, and
faid Negroes. I am, &c.
GUISE.
Sunday, 19 July, 1741. This Letter being
figned and returned to me, I fent early this Morn-
ing to Mr. Davers on board the Suffolk, by Mr.
Campbell, an Officer in Col. Cochrar's Regiment ;
in Anfwer to which he brought a Letter from Mr.
Davers to Brigadier Guife, telling him that con-
trary to Expectation, theDeptford had failed that
Morning, Captain Mqftejn having de fired it the
Night before, to prevent his Seamen from defert-
ing : But he told Mr. Campbell, by word of
Mouth, that had fhe ftaid, it was doubtful if I
mould have gone in her.
( 33 )
the Honourable Brigadier-General
WENTWORTH.
SIR, Kingfltn, Jamaica, 5 Augi
I Beg leave to refer you to my Letter of the
1 6 July : I endeavoured to get a Paflage, as
therein mentioned, in the Deptford Capt. Mojleyni
in order to attend my Duty in the Army, feeing
Commodore Davers would not, at the Defire of
Brigadier Guife, permit the Hofpital Ship Lynn
to depart ; but to my great Surprize, Mr. Davers
refufed me an Order in Writing for Capt. Mof-
tcyn to receive me, and without it the Captain
told me I could not go. This I am told is the
only Inilance in this or any former Expedition*
of refufing a Perfon who bears his Majefty's
Commiflion, a Paflage for a few Leagues in one
of his Ships.
After this, Brigadier Guife ordered me a Paflage
in the Ship Forward, one of your Tranfports,
that is to carry Wine for the Ufe of the Men of
War in Cumberland Harbour ; but upon Receipt
of your Letter to him dated 31 July, he fentme
with a Letter to Mr. Davers , who has a Depu-
tation from Mr. Wallace to officiate as Agent of
Tranfports for him here, telling him that he
thought it neceflary that the Stores in the Hof-
pital Ship Lynn mould be fent to the Army as
foon as poflible, and therefore defired they might
be put on board the Humphry Tranfport, and
that (he may proceed with them : This I thought
exceeding right, that as he would not permit the
Hofpital Ship Lynn to go, the Stores ihould be
forwarded, and me either ufed here as an Infir-
mary Ship, or difcharged : In anfwer to this
Letter he wrote ro the Brigadier, but as he
E thought,
( 34 )
thought, not much to the Purpofe •, viz. That
fhe could not be got ready to fail with the Ships
that go To-morrow. This the Brigadier very
well knew, and did not expect or think fhe
could : And to me, he faid, That he thought
another Tranfport would be as proper as the
Humphry^ becaufe me wanted fixteen Men of her
Complement. Whether he will confent to this
reafonable Propofal, is yet uncertain ; but if he
do not, I cannot fee how he can account for tak-
ing one of the Army's Tranfports to carry Wine
for the Fleet, and not permit another of them at
the fpecial Defire of the Commander in Chief
here, to carry what is equally or more neceflary
for the Army, The Stores for the Sick and
Wounded.
Be this as it will, as I find Mr. Guife leaves this
Affair wholly to Mr. Davers, and does not think
it convenient to exert the Power he has as Com-
rnander in Chief here relating to it ; and as I
cannot carry it farther either by fpeaking or wri-
ting, I mail proceed as the Brigadier has directed
in the Ship Forward to the Army, and leave Or-
ders with Mr. Campbell the Commiffary, to take
care of the Stores in the Hofpital Ship until your
farther Orders come relating to them, which Or-
ders he has promifed to execute with Care.
I have the Honour tc be, &c.
JOHN CATHCART^,
( 35 )
• "'Ofii
$0 the Honourable Admiral VERNON in
Cumberland Harbour j or in his Abfencey
Sir CHALONER OGLE.
SIR, King/Ion, Jamaica, -1$ Aug. 1741.
YEfterday Captain Davers fent for me, and
told me, That he had now your leave to let
the Hofpital Ship Lynn go to join the Fleet, but
that he would not affift her with any Men. I an-
fwered, that the fame Reafons fubfifted as he hacf
fix Weeks ago, when he gave her what Men me
wanted : but he feems pofitive, and I believe will
not give her any Affiftance until you order it. As
it is but twelve Men that (he wants, and that
only until me get to Cumberland Harbour, or
where the Fleet may be, I beg you may be
pleafed to give him Orders to fupply her with fo
many, for it is not at this time in the Power of
any Man to get Seamen here to go in the Tranf-
port Service. I beg leave to add my fincere
Wifhes for your Succefs, and that I am with great
Refpeft, &JV.
JOHN CATHCART.
-iO
To tie Honourable Brigadier-General
WENTWORTH.
SIR, Kingftcn, Jamaica, 29 Aug . 1741.
IN the Lift Letter I had the Honour to write you
5th Inftant, I told you that if Captain Davers
would not comply with Brigadier Gutfe's Defire
of fending the Hofpital Stores in onej of the
Army's Tranfports, I intended to proceed to
die Army in the Ship Forward, and leave faid
Stores under the Care of Mr. Campbell the Com-
mifikry. Said Ship Forward^ tho* near loaded
E z this
C 3* )
this Week paft is ftill here, nor has Mr. Davers
complied with the Brigadier's Defire ; but Yef*
terday he fent for me, and told me, That the
Admiral had given him leave to let the Hofpital
Ship Lynn proceed to join the Fleet ; but that
he, Captain Davers, would not afiift her with
any Seamen, not fo much as a Boy. I then again
propofed his fending the Stores by one of our
own Tranfports, as General Guife had formerly
requefted, and that he would, if he had Power
fo to do, difcharge the Hofpital Ship Lynn to
eafe the Government of a great Expence, being
now rendered ufelefs for want of Hands. As to
the firft, his Anfwer was, he would not ; and as
to the Jaft, he defired me to tell the Mailer of the
Lynn, that he would difcharge his Ship from the
Service if in ten Days fhe was not fufficicntly
manned. I believe it will be impoflible for him
to find Seamen, and as impoflible for any Perfoty
to get Warehoufe-room here for the Stores ; and
therefore I have wrote to Admiral Vernon, and in
his Abfence to Sir Chaloner Qglet requefting an
Order for twelve Seamen, Duplicate of which
Letter I fend you herewith, that you may be
pleafed to add what you think proper, to prevent
the great Inconveniency of landing the Hofpital
Stores here, where they will fpoil and decay,
and not anfwer the End intended by the Go-
vernment. / am with great Refceff, &c.
JOHN CATHCART,
m
-'•'
Ex!'
io'i
(37)
Extratf of a Letter to the Honourable Sir
WILLIAM YONGE, Secretary at War^
dated Jamaica, 5 Sept. 1741.
TH E Hofpital Ship Lynn, with all the Bed-
ding, NecefTaries and Stores for the Sick, is
ftill detained here, firft by Admiral demon's Order,
and now that being recalled by the Conduct of
his Substitute here Commodore.D^'iwj, who will
not fupply her with a few Hands to help to na-
vigate her to Cumberland Harbour only •, and by
the laft I have even been refufed fo fmall a Fa-
vour as my Paflage to the Army in one of his
Majefty's Ships : If ever they are required to ju-
ftify this Conduct of detaining this Ship and me
from the Army fo long, which may be the Cafe,
they will find it very difficult, if not altogether
impoffible. It will not avail them to fay, That
no Damage has enfued, becaufe the Army has
been in good Health and did not want Necefla-
ries for Sick ; for the contrary might have hap-
pened. However, that no Blame may lie at my
Door, I beg leave to fend you herewith Copies
of all my Proceedings in this Affair, that if wanted
Recourfe may be had to them, efpecially to vin-
dicate my own Conduct therein, which to the
beft of my Judgement has been for the Good of
the Service.
JOHN CATHCAR.T.
I mall not, Sir, trouble you with more original
Papers, what I have now fent you being fufficient
to make plain and evident what I undertook to
prove ; and I (hall wait a Week or- ten Days for
your Anfwer, which I hope will prevent my
pub-
J** ff <"v «*-> f* /J
- --
?fc-T*»* »-*.. • C .
(38)
publiftiing the foregoing and fome other Papers
I have yet to add.
/ am with great Refpeff, Sir,
Tour moft obedient humble Servant,
•
JOHN CATHCART.
'
May 29, 1744.
AS the preceding Pages contain a diftinct
Narration of what has part betwixt Admi-
ral Vernon and me, fince the Publication of that
Pamphlet, intitied, Original Papers relating to
the Expedition to tie //^W^/Cuba, wherein I
am fo highly injured ; and as he hath not
thought fit to take the lead notice of what I
have wrote to him on the Subject of fome Let-
ters published in the faid Pamphlet, notwith-
ftanding my repeated and earneft Requefts to
him, and that I have waited for his Anfwers
much beyond the time mentioned in the Jaft Pa-
ragraph of the foregoing Letter ; I hope that no
unprejudiced Perfon, nor indeed that he himfelf,
•will blame me for taking this Method of vindi-
cating myfelf to the Publick, with regard to an
Affair that tends fo very much to the utter Ruin
of my Character and Intereft in the World. I
muft therefore appeal to every impartial Reader,
If, in the firft place, I have not made it plain
and evident, that Admiral Demon's Accnfation
of me, in relation to the Article of Brandy
aboard his Majefty's Tranfports, is abfolutely
falfe and groundlefs •, there having been no part
of the faid Brandies in any Ship but the Bro-
thers^ freighted at private Charge ; nor any, for
Sale to the Army, on board the Hofpital Ship
Lynn> as the Admiral inlinuated to General
[Ventivortb.
2dly,
( 39 )
2dly, That the Hofpital Ship Lynn was actu-
aily detained at Jamaica^ by an Officer of the
Admiral, Capt. Davers, and that this Detention
proceeded, as the faid Officer aflerts in his two
Letters to me of the 15 July, 1741, from an
exprefs and pofitive Order from Admiral Vernon.
'Tis probable the Admiral might have forgotten
that he gave fuch an Order to Captain Daverst
but it is no lefs probable that Captain Dauers put
him in Mind of it in his Letter to him of the
15 July, by Captain Durell-, and in others fub-.
fequent to that, by telling him he had complied
with his laid Order, and had detained the Ship.
This not an Officer of the meaneft Capacity fel-
dom or ever omits to do to his Superior j nor can
fuch an Omiflion be even fuppofed in a Gentle-
man of Captain Davers's Character, who perfectly
knows his Duty. Thefe Letters too from Capt.
Davers, the Admiral muft have had in his Pot-
feffipn on and before the I7th of Auguft 1741 j for
on that Day he wrote to General Wentwortb* 3
and therefore I cannot account for his alluring
the General in his Letter to him of the ipth of
faid
u Being defirous to tranfmit your Letters to your Hands
*' as loon as I can, I difpatch them to you before I liave
«'- read all my Letters. But finding two Paragraphs in Capt,,
*' Davers's Letter relating to the Norway Merchant Tran-
" fport, and the Lynn Holpital Ship, I have drawn out Ex-
tradls of them for you, that you may give the Orders
ia the Affair that you think proper ; and I cannot but
* agree with Captain Davers, that it would be proper to di£
charge them from the Service : for were the Lynn Hofpi-
tal Ship here, fhe could be of no Service to you, as fhe
draws too much Water for getting her into the River
dugufta : So that file muft lie in the Harbour with us,
which I take to be at leaft feven Leagues from your
Camp, which would render her of no Service to you as
an Hofpital Ship. And I take Mr. Catkcart's Solicitoufnefs
about her to be in regard toother Merchandize on board,
' that might not be fo lerviceable to the Army, &:."
(40 )
faid Month, that no Officer of his would have
impeded or detained the Hofpital Ship Lynn from
coming to Cuba.
3dly. That the Detetinon of the Hofpital Ship
Lynn was not falfely reprefented by me to Gene-
ral Wentworth, as the Admiral tells him j but in
a true, plain, and undefigning Manner, well
fupported by Facts and good Authorities : and
that my Endeavours to get the faid Ship and
Stores for the Sick to Cuba> proceeded from the
great Defire I had to do every thing in my Power,
for the Good of his Majefty's Service, being
perfuaded that both the Ship and Scores would
be of great Ufe to the Army ; and not from any
Solicitoufnefs I had on account of other Mer-
chandize aboard, as the Admiral is pleafed to
fay.
And laftly, I cannot help appealing to the
Reader, if, from what has been laid before him,
it does not likewife appear that the Admiral has
At leaft run into the Belief of fome things, and
has afTerted fome Facts, which never had any
Exiftence but in the Imagination, perhaps, of a
prejudiced Informer, or in his own Mifappre-
henfion : And that by fuch aflumed, groundlefs
and wayward Opinions, he, in fome Degree, ob-
ftructed this Branch of his Majefty's Service in
the faid Expedition ; however much he might
have imagined he had the Good of fome others
at Heart. To make this yet more manifeft, I
/hall take the Liberty to add from my Journal
and other Letters, an exact Account how the
faid Hofpital Ship at laft got from Jamaica to
Cuba, and of what Ufe me and the Stores were
to the Army when me arrived there.
3 Friday
(40
Friday , 18 Sept. 1741.
THIS Day General Guife told me, that he
had ordered Lieutenant Colonel Edmond-
Jtoun, Major Stewart, Captain Stewart, Lieut.
John Campbell* and Lieutenant John Fergufin*
with forty Soldiers, to have their Paflage in the
Lynn Hofpital Ship to the Army in Cuba. I faid
the Ship was ready to put to Tea, but flil-1 wanted
eight of her Complement of Seamen ; and I urged
the Necefllty of having this Ship fully manned,
this being the height of the hurricane Seafon, and
fne having on board the Stores for the Sick, kept
here already too long, and the above Officers
and Soldiers •, and that as Commodore 'Defers
had now in this Harbour above 2000 Seamen, he
might poffibiy be induced from thefe Reafons to
fpare eight of them to this Ship. General Guife
immediately wrote him preffingly upon this Head,
and requefted, that he would Jend this Ship ei^ht
Men only, until me joined the Fleet, and then*
to be returned to the Man of War they belonged
to.
Saturday, 19 Sept. 1741. This Day General
Guife {hewed me Commodore Davers's- Anfwer
to his Letter of Yefterday, in which he fay?,
" As to the Lynn I can fpare her no Men, and
ce if me wants eight of her Complement, I be-
" lieve ftie'll not go this Trip."
I told the Matter of the Hofpital Ship of this
flat Refufal from Commodore T) avers ; and that
the above Officers and Soldiers were order'd to
proceed in his Ship, amongft which laft force
might be found that could help to work his Ship,
upon a Promife of full Pay and other Encourage-
ments. I told him farther, That his Ship and
F the
(42 )
the other Tranfports were to fail to Cuba under
the Convoy of two Men of War, the Defiance
and the Ludlow-Caftle, who would probably
fpare us forr.e Seamen after we got out of the
Harbour : Upon which, he and I refolved to get
things in readinefs., and to venture out with the
reft.
Saturday 26 Sept. 1741. This Day Col. Ed-
mondftouiiy with the other Officers and 100 Sol-
diers, in place of 40, embarked in the Hofpital
Ship Lynn •, which made the Safety of this Ship
of fo much the greater Confequence to the Ser-
vice by the Addition of 60 Soldiers, all in
Health and fit for Duty. I therefore defired her
Matter to go and reprefent this to Commodore
Davers, and requeft a Supply of eight or ten Sea-*
men* being informed that he had promifed to aflift
the other Tranfports that were' to fail with us,
with what Seamen they wanted. But this Effort
had no Effect, as the Mafter of the Lynn upon
his Return told me, -and that the Commodore?s
Anfwer was, " Sir, you are not to depend upon
" or pxpecl: any Affiftance from me,"
Monday -, 28 Sept. 1741. The Mafter of the
Lynn being told that Commodore Davers had
this Day fent down Seamen to mann the Tranf-
ports, went on board the Defiance, Capt. Trevor,
who had the diftributing of them, to aik if there
were any for his Ship ; and upon his Return, he
told me, that Captain 'Trevor's Anfwer was,
" ,The Commodore has fent down fifty Seamen
• e to mann the Tranfports, with a Lift of the Ships
" Names that are to be affifted, but your Ship
" is not in the Lift." Colonel Edmondftoun and
Major Stewart^ upon hearing this, propofed to
write
.( 43 )
Write a Letter on this Subject to Mr. D avers ;
but when I told them the prefTmg Inftances that
had been made to' him on this Head by General
Guife^ myfeif and our Captain, and the Anfwers
of the Commodore to us all, they thought It
would have no Effect, and fo dropt it.
ExtraEt of my Letter 29 Sept. 1741, to the
Honourable Sir WILLIAM YON G E Bart.
Secretary at War.
TH E chief Defign of this, is to bring to
your Hands the inclofed Abftract from my
Journal relating to the Hofpital Ship Lynn^ by
which you will fee the Treatment fhe has met
with finCe my laft Letters to you of the 5th and
j2th Inftant.
If it pleafe God to fend me in Safety to the
Army, I (hall keep you advifed cf any thing
that may occur worthy of your Notice that re-
Jates to my Office in it, in compliance with the
Orders you was pleafed to give me at parting.
In the mean time, I beg leave to obferve, that if
the Caufe of the Detention of this Hofpital Ship
Lynn^ and the Stores for the Sick for fo many
Months from it, be inquired into as it ought, and
not pafled over in Silence, Commanders will be
more cautious in giving Orders, and more ready
to give Help in time of .Need ; which will have &
very good Effect, and be of very great Benefit
and Advantage to this and future Expeditions to
thefe Parts fo far from home.
N. B. We failed from Port-Royal\n Jamaica
29 Sept. and arrived at Cumberland Harbour in
Cuba ii Oft. 1741. During the PaiTage, out
Ship the Lynn was never a-rongft the laft of our
F 2 Fker,
(44)
Fleet, and the Convoy never fpared Sail for us
in particular -, which is a farther Proof of her be-
ins neither fo heavy or leewardly as reprefented
to the General by Mr. Vernon.
Extracts from my Journal from 12 Oft. to
30 Nov. 1741.
Cuba, Monday 12 Off. 1741.
THIS Morning in my way to the Camp,
Doctor Dalrymple^ who was then attending
fome of the Sick in * Plumber River, told me,
That the Hofpital Ship was come in good time;
becaufe the Army began to be fickly : That the
prevailing Diftemper in it was the Flux, that the
Sick had no Beds to lie upon, few Bedclothes to
keep them from the Damps and Cold of the
Night?, which began to be very heavy and fharp,
and that they had no Refremments to take : He
defired me to inform the General of all this as
foon as I reached the Camp. This I did, adding
that the Sick might now have what was wanted
of Beds, Bedding and Refrefhments. The Ge-
neral faid, He was glad they were come, and
defired I might iflue them from time to time as
Doctor Dalrymple fiiould direct, and that I mould
fend him a particular Account of all the Stores I
brought with me.
On the 2d of November, being on board the
Hofpital Ship in Cumberland Harbour, I received
]ate at Night, a Letter from Doctor Dalrywple
In the Camp, telling me that the Sicknefs there
had increafed very much, that the General had
ordered eighty of the worft to be fent to the Ho-
ipital Ship, and that it would be proper for me to
wait
* This is the fame River that the Admiral calls Jugujla.
(45
wait on him, to get a farther Supply of Negro
Nurfes, becaufe I needed not expert that any
white Nurfes could now be fpared from the
Camp.
On the 3d Inftant, I got to the Camp in the
Evening, where the General told me, that Jie
had ordered eighty of the Sick to be fent'on
board the Hofpital Ship with 10 Negroes to
attend them ; and that if any of the ten proved
unfit to ferve in the Hofpital, they mould be
changed, and better fent in their place.
On the 8th Inft. Doctor Mc Kenzie was fent in
our Long-boat to the Ships in the Humberth-at had
Sick on board, to pick out of the worft of them,
as many as {he could carry, and fhe brought 24.
This Day Major Hamilton and Major Stewart
were brought on board the Hofpital Ship, and
on the loth Inftant, Sir Robert Abercromby and
Capt. Me Knight, all dangeroufly ill. By thofe
that brought the two laft, we heard, that the
Sicknefs in the Camp, and amongft the Tranf-
ports in the River, had increafed fo much, that
but few remained well to keep guard, and help
to embark the Baggage and Artillery. Admi-
ral Vernon fent an Affiftance of Men and B :ats,
and on the i5th Inftant the Sick, Artillery and
Baggage being embarked, the Camp was burnt,
and the Remains -of the Army, about 400, as I
Was told, including Officers of all Ranks, marched
to their Tranfports down the River-fide about
8 Miles. In the Rear were 45 Officers accoutered
as Soldiers, commanded by Lieutenant- Colonel
Whitefoord^ and about 3 Afternoon, they got to
their Ships : About 40 fell fick on the March,
and about 360 embarked in Health.
On getting the Sick on board the Hofpital
Ship, moft of her Officers and Seamen were
feized
( 4-6 )
feized with the Fever, fo that we could not fend
our Long-boat to the River for more Sick. On
the 1 6th, 1 7th, and iSth, moft of the Tranf-
port Ships got out of the River into the Har-
•bour ; and on the i9th early, I told the General,
that we had room in the Hofpital for 30 more
Sick, but that we could not mann our Boat to
fetch them, or fpare a Surgeon to pick them,
having now but two that were able to do Duty
in the Hofpital. He told me they fhould be
fent, and that Day his own Surgeon brought on
board 26.
About this time the Sicknefs became very mor-
tal : for on the 21 ft Inftant, I fent the General a
Return of the Sick in the Hofpital Ship from
the 4th Inftant, by which it appeared, that we
had taken in 115 Patients, of which 56 died,
and 59 remained under Cure ; fo this Day w,e
had room for 41 Patients more, which I defired
might be fent.
. On the 25th and 26th Inftant, we took in our
full Compliment of Sick, and on the 27th, in
failing out of the Harbour, being weakly manned,
and not able to manage our Sails, our Ship ran
aground. The Admiral fent us AfTiftance of
Men and Boats, which enabled us to get off',
and the next day we failed for Jamaica ; where
on the 3Oth Inftant at Noon, we arrived fafe ;
and when the Hofpital Ship left Cumberland
Harbour, we had the following lick Officers in
her great Cabbin and Gun-room, viz. Major
Stewart, Sir Robert Abercromby^ Capt. (now
Major) Wentwortb, Mr. Pitt, Affiftant to the
Deputy Pay-Mafter-General, Lieutenants Stew-
art, Dairy mple and Campbell : Major Hamil-
ton of Harrifon's, and Lieutenant Swiney of
CochrarrfS) went to their Tranfports, being pretty
-wel
(47)
well recovered, to make room for two of the
above.
The Reader, from what has been here laid be-
fore him, muft now plainly fee of what great
Ufe and Service the Hofpital Ship Lynn and the
Stores were to the Army, after me arrived at
Cuba, how neceflary it was for me to prefs for
her Departure, and how rightly General Went-
"joortb judged in not ordering her to be difcharged
at Jamaica, as advifed by Admiral Vernon in his
above-cited Letter to him, pag. 39, of the I7th
Auguft, 1741. I fhall only further add a Letter
from me to Sir William Tonge, of the i2th of
December 1741. in order to (hew what my Sen-
timents then were as to thefe Matters -, with which
I mall conclude, and leave the whole to the
Confederation of the Publick.
To the Honourable Sir WILLIAM YONGE
Bart. Secretary at War.
S I R, Kingflon, Jamaica, 12 December 1741.
IDI D myfelf the Honour to write you fully by
this Conveyance the Dunkirk Man of War ;
this being intended to remedy one great Incon-
veniency attending the Army's Hofpital Ship in
thefe Parts where we now are .
The Hofpital Ships, that attend the Ships of
War here, are his Majefty's Property, and there-
fore are fupplied from his Stores, and by the
Commanders of his Ships with all NecerTaries anda
fufficient Number of Officers and Seamen to na-
vigate them with fafety, fo that they are never
left behind when it is judged neceflary that they
fhould attend the Fleet. The Hofpital Ship
ap-
(48)
appointed to attend the Land Forces mud be
allowed to be equally neceffary, and of Ufe and
Service to them ; but as me is a hired Ship, and
not belonging to the Government, fhe is not in-
titi. ^ *o thefe Advantages : on the contrary, ever
fince me came under the power of Admiral Fer-
non, me has been exceedingly ill-ufed ; fome
Proofs of which 1 beg leave to lay before you in
the following Facts.
At Jamaica, in the Month of January laft,
her Carpenter, a necefTary Officer, and two of
her Sailors were freffed on board his Squadron :
No Solicitations could recover them either be-
fore we left Jamaica, or in February following,
when in Iri/h Bay, in Hifpaniola ; and in March
before we entered Cartbagena Harbour, when
we had none to caulk our Decks to keep the Sick
and ourfelves dry, I folicited him for this Offi-
cer, but did not fucceed. At laft, when in the
utmoft Diftrefs, two Days before we left Car-
tbagena Harbour, in the latter End of April,, I
reprefented to him by Letter the pitiful Condi-
tion we were then in, for want of the faid Officer
and two Seamen ; adding, what the Confe-
quence might probably be, if they were not re-
turned to us. This had the defired Effect, and
next Morning they were fent back after a Deten-
tion of near four Months.
After our Return from Cartbagena to Jamaica
in June laft, I petitioned Commodore Leftock,
appointed to grant Surveys, for one on the Ho-
fpital Ship, and the Report of faid Survey was,
that fhe was fit to be kept in the Service, if her
Rudder and fome other Parts were repaired.
Her
U9 )
Her Matter applied to Admiral Vernon for a
Piece of Timber from the King's Yard to mend
the Rudder. His Anfwer was, You fhall have
none. And by meer Accident a Piece was found
elfewhere *.
In the faid Month of June, fome time before
the Fle:t failed from Jamaica to Cuba, General
Wentworth fent Admiral Vernon a Reprefenta-
tion in writing of fuch Tranfports as could not
proceed for want of Seamen, and the Number
each Ship wanted ; and amongft others, that the
Hofpital Ship Lynn wanted fourteen. The other
Tranfports got help, and did proceed : But the
Hofpital Ship got none, till after a painful Soli-
citation of 1 1 Days after the Fleet failed, Com-
modore Davers gave her the Seamen {he wanted.
Two days thereafter, being the i5th of July
laft, when fhe would have failed under the Con-
voy of the Tork Man of War to join the Army
at Cula9 he recalled the Seamen he had given,
and wrote me, that by Admiral Vernotfs pofitive
Order, fhe was to remain in Port, nor would he
permit her to fail. Under this Embargo, or ar-
bitrary Detention, fhe continued to the latter End
of
* After fearching Kingfton and Port- Royal.
for two DayS) for fuch a Piece, of 'Timber as -we
wanted ; the Majler of the Lynn brought me
word) that he had found a Piece -proper for the
Ufe in a Parcel of Mahogany ', which Mr. Wood-
cock, Merchant in Kingfton, was then Jhippir/g
for England. 'This Gentleman^ upon hearing our
Cafe, generoujly fpared it to us.
( 5° )
of Augufi following, and then the Commodore
told me, that the Admiral did allow her to de-
part ; but that he, Mr. Davers, was determined
not to fpare her cne Seaman. And he kept his
Word ftrictly : For on the 28th of September fol-
Jowing, he affifted the other Tranfports that
were to fail the next Day with us, with fifty
Seamen, and would not give the Hofpital Ship
one.
Lad Month, November, when the Hofpital
Ship was coming out of Cumberland Harbour in
Cuba, having no Seamen to manage her Sails, me
run aground. The Admiral feeing our Diftrefs,
fent about 120 Seamen under the Command of
three Lieutenants, Lord 'Thomas Bertie, Mr.
L?J!ey, and his own. After about twelve Hours
of hard Labour, they got her off, faw the weak
* Condition we were in (having but five white
Men
* Many of our Tranfporls on leaving Cumber-
land Harbour, were in as weak a Condition as
we, as will appear by the following melancholy In-
fiance, taken fr cm my Journal; Kingfton, Ja-
maica, 5 December, 174.1. " This Day came
" an Account of the Lofs of one of our Tranf- ,
" ports, the Elizabeth Pink, a fine Ship. She
" was miffing fevcn Days after thofe who failed
" with her from Cumberland Harbour, arrived
here ; but one of her Paflengers, Lieutenant
" Swiney, is now come, and gives the follow-
' ing Particulars of her Lofs. He fays, that
when me left the Harbour the 26th of laft
' Month, fhe was fo weakly manned, that they
" could not ftow an Anchor that hung at her
" Bow,
( 51 )
Men capable of doing Duty on board, viz. the
Mailer, Second Mate, Carpenter, and two Sea-
men,
** Bow, that they neglecled to cut it away, any
" that had fkill in thefe Matters bein^ fick and
~ w
" below Deck ; and that before next Morning
*' with the Ship's working, it had made a Hole
f* in her, when they found the Water up to her
*£ lower Deck, ana her Pumps choaked : They had
*' all juft Time enough to get into the Long-boat
*' ( being thirty-two in Number) before me funk,
" except two that were left in the Ship below
" Deck, the Boatfwain and another, who had
<c not Strength to crawl up. They had not time
ec to get any Sails, Water or Provifions, or to fave
*' any thing of Value, having nothing with them
tc but three or four Oars, and were from Friday
" Morning till Saturday Evening before they
" got to the eaft End of Jamaica ; where they
" got aihore to Mr. Hamilton's Plantation, and
<c there are taken Care of till they get Strength
tc to come here. The Mailer of the Ship died
" foon after he landed. There were feven Offi-
" cers in this Ship, viz. Capt. KWegretv, Capt.
tc Robert Poinlz, Lieut. Swineyr Lieut. Fergufon^
" and three more whofe Names I forget, who
" have loft all their Clothes and Biggage.
*' Killegrew, we hear, has loft all his own and
" his Company's Money, about 400 /. Sterling •,
" Col. Whitefoord^ Sir Robert Abtrcromby, and
'* Sir Patrick Murray had in her, and have loft,
" all their Clothes and Equipages, befides ioo/.
" in Money belonging to Sir Robert, and fome
<' Plate that belonged to our late General, Lord
«' Catbcart"
G a
( 52 )
men, with eighteen Negroes, two of which onty-
could go aloft) and promifed to report it to the
Admiral, and no doubt did ; but he fpared us no
Seamen for our Voyage to Jamaica : for the
above Gentlemen with all their People left us
about a Mile without the Harbour, after they
had fet our Sails and flowed our Anchors and
Boats. Lord 1'hcmas^ at parting with many va-
luable Officers we had then fick on board, faid,
he feared we mould not get fafe to Jamaica^ if
the Wind fhifted or over-blowed, and there-
fore gave our Mafter his beft Advice how to
manage.
If it mould be afked, Why this willful Neglect
of the Safety of a Ship fo neceffary to the Ser-
vice, or why fo long detained from the Army
contrary to the Intention and exprefs Order of
the Government ? I think no fatisfactory An-
fwer could be given. However, to prevent for
the future the like unheard-of Conduct, and that
the Army, as well as the Fleet, may have a cer-
tain Dcpendance on their Hofpital Ship's being
always with it ; I humbly think there is no bet-
ter Way than to get an Order or Warrant from
the Lords of the Admiralty ', directed to the Com-
manders of his Majefty's Ships in the Weft Indies^.
and all concerned, to aid and aflift the Hofpital
Ship for the Land-Forces at all times and in all
Places, in the fame Manner and with the fame
Care and Punctuality as if (he did really belong
to the Navy, and was a King's Ship. I prefume to
fend you herewith a Draught of fuch a Wanant^
•which I think will anfwer the End -, and the get-
ting it effected in the Manner you nvy judge
moft proper, I think will be attended witn no
DirlLuky i
(S3)
Difficulty ; feeing the Good of the Service and
paft Conduct neceflarily require it. Only I muft
requeft, that tho* the Form of the Draught of
the Warrant I fend you be altered, yet you will
preferve the whole Subftance of it, and get it, if
you think proper, made yet ftronger, becaufe no-
thing but what is pofitive and exprefs, will at
fome Times and in fome Places operate as it
ought.
As I have always found you willing and defi-
rous to do every thing cheerfully for the Good of
his Majefty's Service, I mail make no Apology
for the Trouble I now give you ; having the
Honour to be, with great Refpect,
JOHN CATHCATT,
DRAUGHT
'(54)
DRAI/GHT of the Warrant mentioned in the
foregoing Letter.
By tie Right Honourable^ the Lords^ &c.
WH E R E A S the Health and Well-being,
of his Majefty's Land-Forcesin the pre-
fent Expedition to the Weft Indies very much
depend upon the Safety and Prefervation of the
Hofpital Ship appointed to attend them in all
Expeditions, You are hereby directed and re-
quired upon Sight hereof, and at the Requeft of
John Cathcart^ Director of the Hofpital in the
faid Expedition ; or the Director for the Time
being, and the Matter of the faid Ship, to fend
two or more proper Officers on board of her, to
the end that you may be particularly informed
of her State and Condition, as to her Hull, Mails,
Yards, Sails, Rigging, Ground-Tackle, Officers
and Seamen ; all which your Officers are to re-
port to you faithfully and particularly, in Writing
under their Hands, declaring that they are ready
to make Oath to the Truth of the faid Report,
when required : And what Afliftance me wants, and
what Supplies me ftands in need of, you are to
afford her to the utmoft of your Power, in the
fame Manner, and with the fame Punctuality and
Care, as if me was not a hired Ship, but one
really belonging to his Majefty's Navy. More
efpecially, if me want any Carpenter's Work,
caulking or careening, you are to order good and
fpeedy Affiftance, and Materials of all Kinds you
can pofllbly fpare, to have her timeoufly and
well fitted to attend the Army in any Expedition j
i and
(5J)
and to furnim her with all Stores '{lie may want,
and you can fpare. Laftly, if any of her Comple-
ment of Officers or Seamen are wanting, either by-
Death, Defertion, or Sicknefs, you are to fupply
her with good Men in their Stead, fo that ihe may
be enabled to proceed with Safety ; taking Care
that the Mafter of faid Ship be obliged to allow
and pay them as high Wages as the Law intitles
Seamen to in the Merchant Service ; as alfo that
the faid Mafter give obligatory Receipts for any
Stores you may fupply him with, which are to
be tranfmitted to the Commiffioners of his Ma-
jefty's Navy ; that the Value of faid Stores may
be ftopt and deducted by them out of the faid
Ship's Freight. For all which, this {hall be
your Warrant. Given, &c.
To all Commanders of his Maj (fly's
Ships of War in the Weft Indies,
and to whom it may concern.
FINIS.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
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